Art In Medieval African Societies

In the medieval African societies, they were proud of their beautiful modernized cities. They used art to make their cities aesthetically pleasing, and literature to express their thoughts and feelings. They prioritized family immensely, and had many traditions. Family was very important because in this time period families did everything together. Religion was a main factor in the spiritual beliefs of the cities. In this time period, not everything was understood scientifically, so religion was a way of explaining the unknown. Art and literature was present in the history of african societies. Art in african societies varied on the location and traditions in the city. African art extends back a long time to the ancient rock paintings of …show more content…
The African societies also worked in many different materials such as gold, ivory, cloth, bronze, and wood. They would create many decorative pieces with said materials including jugs, bowls and jewelry. Often times art would be linked with a specific city or klan, one example is the kente cloth. This was a traditional Western African textile made of woven silk and cloth. When the cities and klans would make particularly speculator and inventive art, they would desire the credit as they deserved it. Art allowed individuals to connect and bond because it acted as a distraction for the hard times in the ancient African cities. As important as art was too build a connection so was literature. Art was able to form a creative bond, while literature formed an intellectual bond. The early medieval African societies preserved their history through oral and written literature. The ancient cities of Nubia, Egypt, and Aksum recorded written literature of their thrilling pasts. Later, Arabic was used as a common language throughout the African cities …show more content…
One type of family unit was the nuclear family, where parents and children lived and worked together. This was common in the small societies because their weren't many opportunities. In other cities, family units would include extended family and immediate family, such as parents, children, grandparents, uncles etc. Inside the family units, there were two types of lifestyles; patrilineal and matrilineal. In patrilineal based families inheritance was passed through the father. The matrilineal households had inheritance passed through the mother's side. The women could have as much power in the household as the husbands, as some men even went to live with the spouses village. Every family, big or small, belonged to a lineage. A lineage was a group of households who claimed to have a common ancestor. When a bunch of these lineages come together they form a clan, and these clans trace back to an even farther ancestor. Having this group of ancestors to belong to provided citizens with a sense of unity and love. Family united and spread happiness throughout medieval Africa. The one common theme throughout these essential aspects to Africa, was that they all brought a sense of unity and peace. Art and Literature united people through beauty and creativity, religion united people through common beliefs, and family united people through common ancestors. In addition they all brought